The Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP) is a collaborative effort between the PA Fish & Boat Commission, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds and Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited.

The purpose of the Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP) is to provide leadership, coordination, technical assistance, and funding support for the evaluation, conservation and protection of Pennsylvania's coldwater streams.

While Pennsylvania has over 86,000 miles of streams, only 30% are considered high-quality coldwater fisheries. Of that, less than 2% are designated as highly productive waters that contain naturally reproducing wild trout. The CHP's primary focus is to foster protection and improvement of these streams and their watersheds.

Goals of the program include:

Foster a greater public understanding of watershed characteristics and how they affect coldwater ecosystems;

Identify special areas of concern, such as areas with exceptional water quality with high potential for impacts;

Produce conservation plans that will lead to additional planning or implementation of projects that protect and enhance our coldwater ecosystems; and

The Coldwater Heritage Partnership is pleased to announce that over $58,000 in grants have been awarded to local organizations to protect and conserve Pennsylvania’s coldwater streams. The Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP) is a collaborative effort between the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, PA Fish and Boat Commission and PA Council of Trout Unlimited.

The purpose of the program is to provide leadership, coordination, technical assistance, and funding support for the conservation and protection of Pennsylvania’s coldwater streams. The program awards planning and implementation grants to conservation organizations in an effort to protect and conserve Pennsylvania’s coldwater resources.

The planning grant is awarded to organizations to create a coldwater conservation plan that evaluates the biological, physical, and chemical features of the stream or watershed to identify potential threats, impacts, and opportunities and compile recommendations for future protection.

The implementation grant is awarded to organizations to complete projects listed as recommendations in Coldwater Conservation Plans or similar documents. Potential projects must conserve, protect, or enhance the resources.
Grants have been awarded to the following organizations: